


Quid Pro Quo

by TracyLorde



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Co-workers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Lawyers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 02:45:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13871433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TracyLorde/pseuds/TracyLorde
Summary: Clarke's relationship with Bellamy had evolved from cautious animosity to (mostly) friendly workplace rivalry. Unfortunately, getting paired together on a big case with high stakes might just bring that tension back to the surface.





	Quid Pro Quo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [meremennen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meremennen/gifts).



“I don’t suppose you’d be free for lunch today, Griffin.”

Clarke glanced up from her desk to see that her arch rival had poked his head into the office she shared with Monty. “With you? No thanks.”

“Now, now,” chided Bellamy as he pushed the door completely open, “that’s no way to talk to the next junior partner at this firm.”

“The next junior partner at this firm will be me, thank you very much,” Clarke replied, arching an eyebrow and sitting back in her chair.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Bellamy leaned against the door frame in an infuriatingly casual way.

Clarke ran her tongue over her teeth. She knew he had no real way of knowing anything more than she did, that he was just trying to unsettle her. And it was working.

The two of them had been locked in competition for this promotion since Bellamy had joined Jaha, Kane, & Associates back in April. He been trying to get under her skin ever since. Clarke reminded herself that she’d been at the firm far longer, had proven her loyalty time and time again, and had a close working relationship with both the founding partners. Still, she couldn’t deny that Bellamy’s exceptional level of confidence worried her, today of all days. Rumor had it that the partners would be announcing who they planned to promote this very week. There were several other candidates in the running, of course. Monty, Harper, Nate were all quite capable lawyers. But Bellamy was the only one who posed a real challenge to Clarke.

It didn’t help that Clarke found Bellamy insanely attractive. He was tall and well built, but a definitively different type than her romantic interests in past, and Clarke hadn’t found herself particularly overwhelmed when they first met. He seemed a bit arrogant and reckless, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that Kane seemed quite impressed with him she wouldn’t have paid him much mind. But she heard him speak in court once or twice, and she realized he was a very talented attorney. More talented, in some ways, than she herself was.

Then she began to notice that his cropped hair was a bit curlier than it had seemed at first, that he had a constellation of freckles dotted across his face and arms, that his eyes were a perfect shade of warm brown that seemed to sparkle in her direction whenever he felt especially playful. He’d taken a bit of time to warm up to her, too, but after a few weeks locked in competition the dynamic between them had shifted from actual antagonists to healthy competition—more or less. She was pretty sure he found her attractive as well, a fact she’d used to her advantage once or twice. He couldn’t seem to bear saying no to her, and she’d found him very useful on a few cases.

But she had no interest in getting to know him outside of work. She’d been down that road once before with an ex, and it hadn’t ended well. Best to keep her work life and personal life separate. Bellamy didn’t seem to share that perspective. He’d taking to asking her out for lunch or drinks weekly, but she always shot him down. She wasn’t sure what his motive was, but she didn’t have time for workplace dalliances of any kind, especially when she was this close to making junior partner at one of the best firms in Manhattan.

Clarke crossed her arms and noticed Bellamy’s eyes darted to her breasts for the briefest of moments. She smirked. “Are you just here to tease me with vague threats, or…”

“Me, tease you? Never.” Bellamy stepped forward and placed both his hands on her desk. His fingers were splayed wide and Clarke found her mind wandering to very unprofessional territory before she snapped back. Glaring at him, she was momentarily was distracted by the way he’d pushed his shirtsleeves up over his elbows. He had nice arms, she thought for the thousandth time. Shame he was such an ass. She exhaled in annoyance and picked up her pen and the nearest brief.

“I’ve got work to do here, and I’d imagine—“

“Friday.” Bellamy paused.

Clarke remained unmoved.

He continued. “Friday the partners are going to be assigning the Reyes case.”

Clarke’s gaze darted from his mouth back to his eyes. “And?”

“Rumor has it, the person they assign it to is the next junior partner.” Bellamy raised his eyebrows as he gauged her reaction. “It’s bound to be one of us.”

Clarke snorted, crossing one leg over the other as she shifted forward in her seat. “It’s bound to be me, you mean. That case has my name all over it. I’ve been following the plaintiff very closely, not to mention medical malpractice is a special interest of mine.”

“You’re very confident.” Bellamy leaned forward still further, his face mere inches from hers now.

Clarke pushed the stack of paperwork on her desk against Bellamy’s right hand, throwing him off balance so he staggered back. He recovered instantly, slipping his hands into his pockets and playing it off.

“Still not worried?”

“I never worry,” Clarke lied.

Bellamy shrugged and finally turned to leave her office. “If I were you, I’d worry a little.”

“If I were you, I’d find a new firm,” Clarke shot back.

Bellamy’s laugh echoed down the hall. Clarke rolled her eyes and turned back to her work. It had nothing to do with Bellamy that she pulled up her file on the Reyes case a few moments later. Nothing at all.

Friday came, and Clarke hid her nervousness with a bright red lip and brand new suit. Kane called her into Jaha’s office mid morning.

“Bellamy, if you’d join us as well, please,” he added.

“Already dressing the part, I see,” Bellamy murmured as he sidled up to her, giving her a glance up and down. “That’s bad luck, you know.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Clarke said, breezing past him and taking the seat nearest Jaha’s desk. She didn’t know why Bellamy was taking part in her meeting, but she didn’t have time to bother about it.

Jaha’s corner office was large, but sparsely decorated. He sat behind a huge desk, and Kane stood at his side, hands on his hips. Clarke had spoken with the founding partners in this office many times over the years, but never with this much accompanying tension.

“Bellamy, Clarke, thanks for joining us,” Jaha began, folding his hands. “You have both reviewed parts of the Reyes case and you know how important this could be to the firm.”

“Of course.” Clarke tried not to frown.

“Well, I’m pleased to say I’d like you both to take the lead on this one,” Kane said with a grin, handing them each a folder. “Bellamy is first chair, and Clarke second. To start, anyway. Things could always change…”

Clarke felt the blush rising in her cheeks, but she gritted her teeth and smiled widely despite it. “Thanks very much for the opportunity, sir. I’m looking forward to bringing this home for the firm.”

“Absolutely,” Bellamy chimed in, a little more levity in his voice than she would have preferred. “We won’t let you down.”

“Excellent.” Jaha glanced up at Kane before continuing. “I’ll expect a full progress report by next Wednesday. Please review all relevant documents, and make sure you’re communicating with each other at every turn.”

“Of course,” Bellamy replied, standing up and shaking hands with both senior partners. “What do you say we get started in the North conference room, Griffin?”

Clarke just smiled widely and nodded as she followed his handshakes then followed him out of the office. She reached the conference room hot on his heels and the moment he’d shut the door began to curse in a steady stream.

“…and it’s just my fucking luck I’d get stuck with you when it’s finally my chance to prove myself,” she concluded, taking a seat at one end of the table and glaring savagely at Bellamy. Friendly competition be damned, this was personal now. The promotion was hers, and no one was going to take it from her. Not even Bellamy Blake.

Bellamy was still standing near the door, an all too familiar expression of amusement dancing on his face. “You finished, princess?”

Clarke huffed and snapped a pencil in half. “Now I am. Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Oh, we’re starting now? Not before, when you called me a good for nothing show off with shit for brains?”

“If you’d like that recorded I’m happy to repeat it,” Clarke replied savagely.

“This really annoys you, doesn’t it?” Bellamy said, finally taking a seat opposite her and narrowing his eyes. “What gives? There was a pretty good chance they’d pair us up at some point…”

“But now? On this case? With all this at stake?”

“I think that’s kind of the point…”

“I know!” Clarke snapped. “It doesn’t make it any less annoying.”

“I might not be first chair for long, you know,” Bellamy pointed out. “Kane could easily reassign that to you. Besides, you’ve more experience leading, anyway.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Fine, so you think you deserve the promotion and I don’t, I get it,” Bellamy said, in a slightly different tone that before. “But here’s the thing…I do.”

Clarke pursed her lips. “Cocky.”

“Not any more than you are. I’ve done quite well for myself here, you have to admit. Not to mention, back in school I earned my scholarships, whereas you—“ he stopped abruptly, suddenly unsure of himself.

“Whereas I had all the advantages money could buy,” Clarke finished for him.

Bellamy shrugged. “Your words, not mine.”

He wasn’t wrong, and she knew it. “It’s not going to do any good, arguing. We’ve got to work together on this.”

“You started it,” Bellamy replied in a dramatic whisper.

“Fine. Fine! I started it. And now I’m ending it. From this point on, now until the case is done, we’re allies, not enemies. You help me, I help you. Got it?”

“Allies, huh?”

“Partners, even.”

“You don’t look as if you’re enjoying the sound of that,” said Bellamy.

“I’m not. But we’re going to have to make it work, alright?” Clarke was determined to get this promotion, one way or another. Fighting her co-chair was no way to achieve a win in the courtroom.

A slow grin spread across Bellamy’s face. “Does this mean you’ll have to get lunch with me now?”

“Working lunches only. This is a big case, we’re going to have to eat sleep and breathe it.”

“Works for me,” Bellamy replied, beginning to flip through the documents Jaha had given them. His eyes flickered up to meet hers, and for the briefest moment she thought he was on the verge of saying something regrettable, but he didn’t, and she was saved. She and Bellamy had too much work to do for all these distractions. She just had to focus, keep her eyes on the prize, and ignore her every instinct to jump him.

Easier said than done.

**Author's Note:**

> I will be continuing this at some point most likely, in the meantime find me on [tumblr!](https://tracylorde.tumblr.com)


End file.
